Honestly surprised that there are some saying this is simply no big deal. Cook was a tremendous defender, would have been a senior + leader and would have a roster spot with a "known commodity". Banks was really good this year in High School. But he struggled mightily with outside shooting and was not a good FT shooter. And in reality, we really don't know what we're getting with Butler. The only thing he's truly known for is defense. At the very least, this is not ideal for the program and I'll just leave it at that to avoid sounding dramatic. But, again, this isn't good. Could there be more to come ?
Told y’all back in January he was gone
you sure did. more good info from the management here. more bad info from the heff.
he was cleared to play prior to missouri. mike trude even said on the air that cook would start at missouri after trude watched him practice prior to that game.
the signs were clear.
Craving a McBride Special!
I am happy with the young pieces we have. This is a total complete rebuild of a dumpster fire. It takes time to build a culture
It does take time to build a culture. And longer when you have this much roster turnover.
In this era of transfers, it does not need to take 4-5 years to get good (see Drake). And with what Mullins is being paid for a cash-strapped school, I think it's fair to expect him to build on the very good job he did in his debut season. Still hopeful SIU can be very competitive next year and back in the postseason no later than Year 3 or Year 4, but the lifting has gotten heavier from a recruiting standpoint with Cook leaving and so many spots to fill.
Told y’all back in January he was gone
you sure did. more good info from the management here. more bad info from the heff.
he was cleared to play prior to missouri. mike trude even said on the air that cook would start at missouri after trude watched him practice prior to that game.
the signs were clear.
I in no way am inclined to defend Heff (who has been late on all this roster turnover in recent weeks), but in fairness in this instance, Mullins also told Reis in a postseason interview that he expected Cook to be back.
To me it’s simple . Bryan wants his own players and I think he was probably ready for Aaron to move on. You could make the argument that we got better after he got hurt. My feeling is that Cook was a good player, not a great one. He was quick, played good d and could score . But.... he also wasn’t a pure shooter, dribbled way too much, didn’t see the floor well and had trouble finishing at the basket. All in all I’m ok with him leaving as now this is Truly Bryan’s team! Go SALUKIS.
oh keep in mind that coaches don’t tell everything to the media. Don’t think he didn’t know. He did.
I hope Cook comes back and I think he will. Some people just like to stir sh**t 😉 , and that's why this topic was started without any basis in fact. See the above link to Iowa State? How is that relevant and who gives a flying F? EVERY school is looking for players including transfers, including The SIU. So what!
Cook's a good player, but his loss certainly would not kill us. I'm fine with Lance Jones, Domask, Harvey, the incoming freshmen - lots of talent there. Much more concerned with rebounding and inside presence - that is what will make or break us next year - if there is a basketball season.
there was a basis in fact. there are some people here that know of what they speak. we may not always want to hear it but it does not mean they are just trying to stir something.
you are correct that his loss will not kill us. the experience jones gained this season was priceless in the long term and will speed our recovery.
Craving a McBride Special!
To me it’s simple . Bryan wants his own players and I think he was probably ready for Aaron to move on. You could make the argument that we got better after he got hurt. My feeling is that Cook was a good player, not a great one. He was quick, played good d and could score . But.... he also wasn’t a pure shooter, dribbled way too much, didn’t see the floor well and had trouble finishing at the basket. All in all I’m ok with him leaving as now this is Truly Bryan’s team! Go SALUKIS.
oh keep in mind that coaches don’t tell everything to the media. Don’t think he didn’t know. He did.
I'm good with most of what you post here, but I would take issue with two things:
1. IF Mullins truly knew Cook was leaving, when asked by Reis, say something like "We're still working through everything and we'd love to have Aaron back." The way he put it made it sound like he legitimately expected Cook back. You don't want to risk losing credibility with fans when you don't have to.
2. Bringing in all your own players sounds great, but as has been mentioned, you now have six scholarships in a COVID-impacted spring signing period. Are they going to be able to bring in six players in the coming weeks that can help elevate the program to the top of the MVC? I hope so. Very tall order, though.
Told y’all back in January he was gone
you sure did. more good info from the management here. more bad info from the heff.
he was cleared to play prior to missouri. mike trude even said on the air that cook would start at missouri after trude watched him practice prior to that game.
the signs were clear.
I in no way am inclined to defend Heff (who has been late on all this roster turnover in recent weeks), but in fairness in this instance, Mullins also told Reis in a postseason interview that he expected Cook to be back.
yeah, but he said the same of chris peyton. he is not going to say anything different though. he's not going to upstage a student-athlete.
Craving a McBride Special!
I’ll put my neck out there right now. I think he is coming back.
no offense, but you said the same thing about hucky last year. 😂
It’s possible you have me confused haha I never had info that Barry would be back, nor did I predict it. I wouldn’t wish another year of him on my worst of enemies 😂... anyway, this isn’t speculation, I was told this by someone very connected. That’s all I will say... and Barkeep is probably right, his options are still open but as of now I think he stays.
lol, maybe I did confuse you, but i know you were pretty gloomy at near the end of the season. 😋
the coaching staff was not blindsided by this. the scholarship has already been offered.
Craving a McBride Special!
so where is cook headeed?
slu?
Would be nice to have a very experienced guard - but doesn't bother me much. He was going to get less playing time due to the talent we have and will have.
I think people are over-estimating Cook. He was very inconsistent. Had good games at times. I used to hate to see him at the FT line late in close games. And even this past year, he was a TO machine.
As a freshman, he shot 18.5% from three playing 10.6 mins/game. We've got more talented guards in Jones and maybe Banks.
Sorry, but this is an awful take.
Like I said, would be nice to have an experienced guard.
I stand by every word. Folks love to rewrite history. I'd take a Mike Rodriquez (remember him?) over Cook any day of the week. Cook looked like an All-Star against Kentucky. Most games he was not especially memorable.
People will totally forget about Cook next season. Jones is quicker, will be a better scorer and defender ... then there's Harvey and Banks.... Fact is, if we had more "good" size last year and depth, we would have probably finished 2nd or 3rd in the MVC. Guard wasn't our problem usually, although we had way too many TOs. It was rebounding and scoring.
Cook did make the most-improved team as a soph. He was a decent defender, not a great one. Never made the All-D team. He was on course for a nice senior year, 13 ppg, as you would expect...but was shooting 59% FTs and only 27% from 3. (By comparison, Jones shot 29.3% from 3 and 63% FTs as a Freshman...) Cook played in 5 D1 games last year - had 15 TOs in just 4 of them - not great for a senior guard.
It's a loss - but certainly not devastating.
so where is cook headeed?
slu?
Denver Airport!
Agree that 6 is a bit much. 4 would be a much more manageable number. But as far as a coach taking to the media there are just some things that aren’t gonna be discussed or admitted to until the timing is right.
so where is cook headeed?
slu?
Denver Airport!
reallly? i was just their a few weeks ago. no sign of cook.
My main concern at this point is wasting 4 years (hopefully) of Domask. As we all know in this current postseason drought we are in, players like him don’t come along often. There’s a reason why guys like Anthony Beane And Sean OBrien aren’t remembered as well as guys like Matt Shaw or Jamaal Tatum or Kent Williams. We remember the winners. I would fear that if we aren’t a contender heading into his junior season, Domask may start to look around for a place to showcase his talents on a winning team on a bigger stage. With the right help, that could be here. But Mullins now has to correctly choose 6 key pieces to put around him. A couple of the guys we haven’t even signed yet will start along side Domask and Jones next season. Then, mix in the injury bug and bad luck and it all has to go right at this point. There will always be recruiting misses, but it’s a lot easier to hide them if you have a solid core of 6-7 players built up to mask them. That won’t be the case next year as all new recruits will be thrown into the front lines.
